The Writing of Cloud Buchholz

Love Poems & Other Foolish Things:
A Collection of Haiku


4-5-2010
#1
like the trees that grow
in parking lots we nestle
into each other

#2
the ocean carves out
stone cliffs the way your fingers
graze me as you pass

#3
my voice reaches you
the way a small leaf reaches
for the distant sun

4-8-2010
#4
if someone described
her thighs as a library
then I would read more

#5
if her eyes were a
zoo, I would be the monkeys
shaking at their bars

#6
if her fingers were
a comb, I would be a strand
of long knotted hair


2-28-10
#7
naked like a doll
at her pretend tea party
when can I go home

#8
her lips like candy
I (a child) could not resist
now diabetes

#9
sick like the hot sun
a full hemisphere away
from your best(est) dreams

#10
red, blond, and brunette
which is best, I couldn't say
soon they'll all go gray


8-17-2010
#11
I thought of how you'd
say good-bye and I practiced
plugging up my ears

#12
I saw your heart on
your sleeve, and so I bought you
a jacket to wear

#13
my dog stole the news-
paper and bit my hand. Why
did I think of you?

#14
like green tomatoes
my thoughts are plucked before you
can slide into bed

#15
I want you the way
an anorexic thinks of
toothpaste for breakfast


8-18-2010
#16
waiting like a cell-
phone tower, I introduce
your friend to my friend

#17
if you were the sun
than my heart must be wearing
night vision goggles

#18
nervous like a used
car salesman with unpaid bills
I watch you enter

#19
my tongue is a new
pair of shoe strings keeping hold
of worn down sneakers


8-19-2010
#20
her kiss is like a
rusty pickup truck, rough, but
it'll get you there

#21
her best look is like
the last green leaf lingering
before bulldozers

#22
clothes peel off like paint
neglected on a foreclosed
home (eager to sell)


8-21-2010
#23
waiting for the best
pitch with my pick-up line, you
let me walk to first

#24
when you go to the
store buy yourself a bouquet
of flowers. I'll pay.

#25
keeping up with your
lips leaves my ears like frayed wires
electrocuting


8-23-2010
#26
like commercial breaks
during the super bowl, we
take some time apart

#27
a leaf has two sides
both are delicious to a
starved caterpillar

#28
like a book cover
ripped off, I'm seen but never
read, sold, or displayed

#29
talking like a dog
covered in mud, shaking it
off in the bedroom


8-24-2010
#30
a tree grows through stone
craving the sun the same way
I search for your smile

#31
bodies breathe until
they forget how and go cold
even you and I

#32
cars careen around
a corner and kiss bumpers
the way we cuddle


9-20-2010
#33
like a heavy rain
that floods a city sidewalk,
you torrent my thoughts

#34
a car door slams shut,
I think of you. My heart aches,
and I think of you.

#35
The leaves turn yellow.
In winter they will kiss the
ground and linger there.

#36
the sweetest flower
is only a flower, but
you have the best boobs


9-21-2010
#37
rust keeps a metal
chair shut. I am the same way
when you leave my side

#38
a dog barks at the
softest sound the same way your
name keeps me awake

#39
like the mosquito
bite I shouldn't scratch I hear
the telephone ring


9-23-2010
#40
I'm like a blind man
alone at a strip club when
you turn off the lights

#41
a pancake without
syrup is the same as my
lips absent of yours

#42
I'm solar panels
in the shade outside your room
waiting for the sun


10-5-2010
#43
I think of you when
the house is cold and quiet
and the doors are shut

#44
like a hospital
patient waiting for the news
of their (soon) release

#45
a butterfly weighs
the edge of a leaf, hoping
for a gust of wind

#46
dust gathers on the
fine china in the cupboard
like everything else

#47
her bed is neatly
made each morning. She wonders
when it will matter


2-2-2011
#48
the rain washed away
the dried worms from the sidewalk
now there's only stone


3-14-2011
#49
I would kiss your hand
if I knew, with certainty,
that you had washed it

#50
the relationship
I have with this ingrown nail
is milder than ours

#51
the ocean lingers
along the sand like my hand
along your curved waist

#52
like a monster truck
without seatbelts, our bodies
collide with the sheets

#53
before we begin,
you should know how long it's been
since I last began

#54
people never change
the word love, though they sometimes
give it new meaning


4-21-2011
#55
the grass always grows
even when we cut it down
or act neglectful


11-5-2011
#56
the cat on your lap
looking for affection must
have gotten lost there


9-4-2012
#57
like unfurled flags in
windless skies waiting for an
evening breeze and you

#58
your love is like a
colloquial language in
a land I visit

#59
I am a sumo
wrestler with a fistful
of menus and cash

#60
with you I feel like
a Greek god, all powerful,
but missing tribute

#61
loving you is like
a preacher full of hellfire
absent a bible

#62
a life insurance
salesman before Ragnarok
would love you better


9-5-2012
#63
a smart accountant's
calculator is idle
like my heart by yours

#64
my tongue's a dog's tail
wagging when you return home
to open my cage


9-6-2012
#65
a gun without a
bullet sits on the mantle
by photos of you

#66
cold pizza and pills
won't cure a hangover and
neither will your glare

#67
a poor man without
a wallet is a poor man
until he buys one

#68
dreaming in black &
white after Technicolor
in an empty bed


9-10-2012
#69
it's getting harder
to find days I don't regret
even ones with you


9-20-2012
#70
we live like bees that
have drown in honey they made
to share with the hive

#71
the tree was cut down
weeks ago, but I still trip
on uncovered roots

#72
a bird sings to pass
the time while I watch the cat
slink across the yard

#73
without my glasses
you are smudges of color,
abstract, out of reach...

#74
I woke up dreaming
of you and the moment we
met. I hate nightmares.

#75
a hamster ball is
the speed of our rapport, if
we hated rodents

#76
a bald barber can
still cut hair, and I can still
keep you happiest


9-24-2012
#77
if love is a joke,
it's the only time I don't
feel like the punch line


9-25-2012
#78
an airplane passes
overhead. Are you on it?
I don't care...I don't...

#79
a car alarm blares.
a window breaks. It can't be
you. It's too subtle.

#80
I spilled my coffee,
the sprinklers soaked the news,
and you ate my toast...

#81
like a child counting
for the first time, I don't know
what comes next...or why

#82
mosquito bites are
like you; touching one only
makes it worse and scars

#83
I think of you when
It's quiet or loud, when I'm
alone or with friends...

#84
the best safeword when
I'm with you is "goodbye" but
I always forget

#85
the shower leaks and
the water's always cold, but
you can still get clean

#86
an author counting
words is how you are with me,
making your quota

#87
how can I say I
love you? I know seventeen
syllables won't do...

#88
an elephant can
recognize it's reflection,
but can't build mirrors

#89
"catch & release does
not just apply to fish," you
said before you left

#90
I am waiting like
a sack lunch getting smushed while
you read the menu

#91
a good professor
without a book could still teach,
but would need students

#92
a skilled PR team
defending terrorists would
explain you better

#93
a soft breeze touches
my cheek and escapes between
the slots of the fence

#94
an orange breasted bird
catches worms floating in the
muddy, hose-soaked dirt

#95
stone angels in a
cemetery gather tears
and lots of bird poop

#96
doing nothing is
best when it comes to picking
scabs and seeing you

#97
jet trails separate
the sky into places we've
been and yet to be

#98
the clothesline trying
to untie itself matters
to the hanging clothes

#99
I had a pet rock.
One day I let him go free.
He didn't get far.

#100
The hammer was left
out all night. It works, I'm sure,
just hold this nail still.


9-27-2012
#101
an email from you
made me smile until I learned
it was a virus

#102
I wait for you here
like a window shattered by
a careless cat thief.

#103
If love is a game,
I must have lost the board and
pieces years ago.

#104
The engine echoes
off the wooden walls of homes
built in perfect rows.

#105
I thought touching you
was progress, but now I see
it was only change.

#106
Vultures circle. Do
they know you're gone? Do they know
I lie here dying?

#107
The sky must be blue
in your hemisphere because
the sun left with you.

#108
The quiet nights I
find no sleep, the sheets are hot,
and I feel naked.

#109
My nose hairs, like your
sad stories, are annoying
when they get too long.


10-11-2012
#110
Yellow leaves, brown tipped,
cover the ground like blankets
of dead summer sun.

#111
Rustling trees speak
in steady cadence like a
dancer's toes touching
(sand)

#112
The ocean breeze stings
of salt and shards of cold while
the waves die slowly.

#113
A bald tire leaking
along the highway, breaks squeal,
I'm late once again.


10-14-2012
#114
I am like the grass
growing between the pumpkins
of your small garden.

#115
The frail flowers, stiff
and dead, occupy a green
pot in the backyard.

#116
The neighbor's dog broke
through the panels of the fence
looking for a friend.

#117
A soldier returns
home with his uniform stuffed
inside his suitcase.

#118
I'm sorry she says
like a waitress with the bill
before I've tipped her.


10-15-2012
#119
Yogurt and coffee,
a cold shower and blue tie.
Mondays are the worst.

#120
Office phone ringing,
another client wanting
a better deal now!

#121
Nervous hands to hold
the baby of a cousin;
I'm not a parent.


10-16-2012
#122
Sometimes when I stop
for a moment, thoughts of you
return painfully.

#123
Do you think of me?
Are you writing poems about
how much you miss me?

#124
In the still morning
when the sun is fast asleep,
your alarm goes off.

#125
Are you happy now
that you've found someone who's not
me? ...It's mutual.


10-17-2012
#126
Like politicians
circling an issue, we
talk in agreement.

#127
A debate on mute
is how I feel when I think
about leaving you.

#128
An American
flag pinned to a suit is not
ever at half mast.


10-18-2012
#129
The ambassador
to your heart must deal with a
lot of terrorists.

#130
A love letter sent
too late is better than not
at all, so you say.

#131
This old house must have
a ghost that leaves the toilet
seat up...It's not me.


11-8-2012
#132
The romance may be
gone, but you haven't left yet.
I'll get your jacket.

#133
The Apple fanboy
who bought the older model
by accident knows...

#134
I'm the last person
you want to see right now, so
why not close your eyes?

#135
A herd of cattle
adding to global warming
amounts to your loving.

#136
An open window
and cold rain make the heavy
blanket feel warmer.


5-30-2013
#137
An enemy of
compromise, I'll take every
part of you right now.

#138
Charity is not
love...It's not even a close
second, so you say.

#139
My armor is old,
breaking, and worn. I'm not a
soldier anymore.

#140
The dog lies outside
on the hot pavement dreaming
of wet grass and shade.

#141
The expression of
power is control like a
bird's wing finding air.


6-1-2013
#142
The wind through palm leaves
isn't rain. California
winters are warm ghosts.

#143
I want you to hold
me when I've done too many
rum shots...like right now.

#144
The earthquake tremor
felt like a cat demanding
my leg's attention.

#145
Playing with her hair:
too many strands, not enough
fingers - the knots win.

#146
What's left to say now?
Not even the air between
us will get pregnant.

#147
You swim in sandals
and nothing else. Oh to be
a fish in that lake.

#148
Twisting funnels form
jagged spires separating
the blue-torn skyline.

#149
You say to settle
down and not let them hold me
back, but here I am.


6-2-2013
#150
You write the headlines
of our quarreling while I
peruse the paper.

#151
I see you standing
by the sink, suds covering
your breasts...I want you.

#152
I walked away not
because of you, but because
I'm good at walking.

#153
You might as well be
the watch cuffed around my wrist
counting the seconds.

#154
I've still got this dream...
It's the only time I see
you and not feel bad.

#155
My heart was a film
pirated and free when you
smiled for the first time.

#156
The end of the world
doesn't scare a man like me,
not when I've got you.


6-3-2013
#157
I don't want to doubt
how quickly you close your eyes
every time we kiss.

#158
Some days I hate you.
Other days I hate that I
hate you. Just go...please.

#159
Will we be dug up
in a thousand years? Will they
find us together?

#160
I'm so sick of you,
but this fever won't break and
maybe it shouldn't...

#161
You play all the right
games while I search the rule book
for proper context.

#162
Being the better
man would be my first choice if
I wasn't a boy.

#163
There's still time for you
to go or did you expect
me to lock the door?

#164
I spend each evening
on the floor with the dog while
you lie on the couch.


6-4-2013
#165
My shadow stretches
beneath your feet while we walk:
grim foreshadowing.

#166
I'd be drunk if
I had the money; instead,
I'll settle for you.


6-5-2013
#167
You're the kind of girl
guys like me could idealize
if we had never met.

#168
I'm not a fool for
laughing at myself. I'm a
fool because of you...

#169
You'll probably change
your mind when you get to know
me...they always do.

#170
A conquistador
invading a foreign land
steals the way you love.

#171
The rain didn't last -
just a drizzle to keep us
huddled together.

#172
You let the sweat cling
to your shirt after jogging.
I like you sticky.

#173
The problems at hand
come to mind every time I
hold you in my arms.


6-6-2013
#174
A tear in the screen
brings a bizzing fly inside
to die by my hand.

#175
You sit in the sun
as the cold tonic perspires,
wetting your fingers.

#176
A noise startles you.
I search the house with a bat
and my underwear.

#177
I may not be good,
but I can be good enough -
just give me a chance.


6-8-2013
#178
The package waits there,
in front of your door like a
baby abandoned.

#179
Helpless sand returns
to the rhythm of the cold
current of ocean.

#180
Golden lions lay
in dry and dead savannahs
while zebras approach.

#181
My dear, how could I
love anyone before you
...or anyone else?


6-11-2013
#182
You always leave me
wanting more like the host of
an infomercial.

#183
I'm like a mug shot:
taken at your worst moment
after a drunk night.

#184
You start me up like
an old engine that kicks when
you try to change gears.


6-13-2013
#185
Kindling in cardboard
boxes is stacked by a pit
warming in the sun.

#186
I'm dreaming of all
the ways to kiss you; each more
daring than the last.

#187
For now we are young
and bolder than we ought to
be, but age will come.

#188
She presses a hand
to her face hoping to hide
the tears on her cheeks.

#189
The brittle roses
wilt in a vase on your desk.
Will you water them?

#190
Lay in the sand with
me and we will watch the waves
topple slow surfers.

#191
Thunder clouds cover
the sky, but I know we're still
circling the sun.

#192
Someone is waiting
in your front room flickering
the lights...I should go.

#193
I know I'm slow when
I should be quick, and I'm quick
when I should be slow.


6-15-2013
#194
Babe, close your window.
It's not me throwing pebbles
or calling your name.

#195
The angels watching
over you must have resigned;
God only knows why...

#196
The perfume trails you
like a shadow or a cape
that I tug lightly.

#197
It's hard to explain
the intricacies of love,
so I won't bother.

#198
It doesn't take much
to gratify me. I bet
even you will do.

#199
You're a beautiful
girl wearing high-heels, a coy
grin, and nothing else.

#200
I only knew you
loved me when I let you down;
satisfaction hurts.

#201
You keep me honest
or quiet, whichever suits
your better nature.